Launching on 17 July, NASA’s new craft will hunt for signs of past microbial life, cache rock and dig for soil samples - all while preparing for human exploration of the Red Planet

Reported by Kulvinder Singh Chadha

Meet the new Martian rover from NASA, Perseverance. This next-generation explorer was built upon the successes of its predecessors Spirit, Opportunity and the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL), also known as Curiosity. All of these robot explorers have worked towards helping us better understand the planet next door, Mars, and in the wider scope of science understanding the past biology and geology of other worlds. Now the Mars 2020 mission’s Perseverance rover is looking to go even further.

Above: NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has been watching over Jezero crater ahead of the rover’s arrival

© NASA/JPL-Caltech

The launch date for this mission is scheduled for 17 July 2020, but the launch window will remain open until 5 August in case of setbacks. It will fly on top of an Atlas V 541 rocket, which also launched Curiosity and InSight, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. However, it won’t be travelling alone. Alongside Perseverance will be a first-of-its-kind demonstration aircraft called the Mars Helicopter - more affectionately nicknamed Ingenuity. After launching the duo will spend over half a year voyaging through space to their destination, where the pair will hopefully land safely in Jezero crater on 18 February 2021. This is located on the western edge of Isidis Planitia, just north of the Martian equator.

After the much-fretted ‘seven minutes of terror’, where mission staff hold their breath for seven minutes as the rover goes through atmospheric entry, descent and landing, the rover will begin its primary mission duration of one Mars year - 687 days in Earth time. During this time Perseverance will inspect the Martian surface for signs of ancient life, characterise its geology and climate, prepare for future human exploration and collect samples of extraterrestrial rock for a future return mission.

Right: The SuperCam will scrutinise the Red Planet’s geology with unprecedented precision

© NASA

“Perseverance is the most sophisticated and complex rover mission we’ve ever sent to Mars. Perseverance has a new and updated science payload that makes it better suited for searching for ancient signs of life in the rock record of Mars than any previous Mars mission,” explains one of the Mars 2020 deputy project scientists, Dr Kathryn Stack Morgan.